Refrigerating apparatus



Feb. 8, 1944. E. F. scHwELLER 2,341,123

v REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 2l, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 www.

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REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed oct. 2i, 1942 asheets-sheet 2 I N VEN TU H. bm/,va Sena-4461?.

Feb. 8, 1944. E. F. scHwELLER REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 2l, 1942 INVENTOR Enya/vo E' 5cl/Mauer.

sanas ret. 8,1944

@up srArss 'ALTENT oFrlcE maFaroEmrrmo. APPARATUS Edmund F. Schwellen', yton, Ohio, assigner to General Motorsorporation, Dayton, Ohio, a.A corporation of Delaware i Application October 21,1942, Serial N0. 462,792

Claims. '(Cl. 160-120) This invention relates to refrigeration and partioularly to household refrigerator cabinets having a refrigeratingsystem associated therewith.

I have found -that by careful selection of the ing door commonly used for closing the refrigerator chamber laccess opening.

An object of myinvention is to provide animproved closure or` door for closing the access opening of a food storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet.

Another object of my invention is toprovide the access opening of a refrigerated food storage chamber with a.door which can be vertically moved to a partially open -position to afford access to a part of the interior of Vthe chamber while at the same time closing off the remainder of the chamber from outside A further object of my invention is to provide a door for the refrigerated food storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet which can be partially opened from the top downwardly to gain access to articles stored in the uppermost portion of the chamber and to ice trays contained in an evaporator of a refrigerating system, which evaporator is usually mounted at the top of the chamber, without opening or exposing the entir chamber to outside air; v

A still further object of my invention is to provide a vertically slidable .door for closing the access opening of a food storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet, which door comprises flexible sheet members extending continuously along the access opening in spaced apart relation'to one anotherto form air spaces therebetween for more effectively insulating the door.

In carrying ou't the latter object, it is a more jspeoiflc object of my invention to provide means which, when operated in one direction, will iiex and roll the sheet door members thereupon to cause openingY of the door, and which, when o paccomplish the purposes -of my invention as will' more fully appear in the course of the following description. 'f

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator cabinet having my invention incorporated therein and showing the food storage chamber door in open position; Y Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the refrigerator' cabinet shown in Fig. 1 and istaken on the line 2-2 thereof; Y

Figsisaviewsimnartorigzshowingthe' food storage chamber door of the refrigerator in closed position Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the refrigerator taken on the line l-l of Fig. 3 showing roller -means for the members of the food chamber door;

5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view through the door opening of the cabinet and is taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a small fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5 showing a cable attached to the head portion of the refrigerator cabinet door.

Fig. 'I is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 1--1 of Fig. 2 showing a pulley for the cabinet door cable; A

erated in an opposite direcon, will unroll the.

sheet members to cause closing of the door.

Other. and more specific objects and advantages reside in novel combinations and arrangements of the various parts of the apparatus to Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a p of a drum employed to roll sheet members of the door thereupon and showing means for fastening the ends of the members thereto; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged tary view showing means fr fastening one end of a cable employed for mo'ving the door to the drum.

Referring to the drawings, inforder to illustrate my invention, I have shown in Fig. 1 thereof a household refrigerating apparatus comprisr ingV a cabinet generally represented by the reference character Ill. Cabinet l0 includes a plurality of metal walls Il forming an outer shell or wall surface for the cabinet and a metal liner .member l2 (see Fig. 2) within the upper portion of the oabnet.- surrounded by any suitable insulating material I! and forming walls ofa food storage chamber l5. Chamber l5 is divided. into a plurality of food storage spaces by partitions or shelves I3. tend downwardly beyond the insulated chamber l5vto enclose or provide an apparatus or machine compartment I6 at the bottom of the cabinet Il. A metalpand ortho like l1 cooperatesiith the cabinetwalls Iltocloseth'efrontofm- -partment liwhilethe-backofthemachinecllnpartment is left open for air circulation thoro- The cabinet outer walls H excondenser 23 of a refrigerant compressing and circulating unit located in the machine compartment I6 (see Fig. 2). The refrigerant compressing and circulating unit includes a sealed motorcompressor 24 communicating with the evaporator 2| by way of a gaseous or evaporated refrigerant conduit 25. within evaporator 2|, to effect cooling of the interior of chamber |5, is drawn into the com'- pressor of the motor-compressor 24 where it is compressed and circulated or forwarded under pressure, through conduit 26, into thecondenser 23. The compressed refrigerant is cooled and liquefied in condenser 23 and circulated orreturned to the evaporator 2| by way of the supply conduit 22. An expansion valve or restrictor usually interposed in the conduit 22 controls the flow of liquid refrigerant into the evaporator 2|. Any suitablethermostatic switch or the like,

, as is conventional in the art, may be provided for starting and/or stopping operation of the motor-compressor 24 to maintain a predetermined low temperature within the .evaporator 2| and consequently within food storage chamber I5.

Since my invention is particularly directed to conserving refrigeration within a refrigerated food storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet, I provide a unique and improved door for closing the chamber access opening which door, in addition to forming the sol'e closure means for the chamber, also operates in a manner to conserve refrigeration and render the refrigerating system, associated with the cabinet,I more ecient. In the present disclosure, wood or moulded insulating pieces 3| form the side walls of the ac- Refrigerant evaporated cess opening of chamber I5 and a wood or moulded piece 32 forms the top wall thereof (see Figs. 2 and7). The bottom wall of the access opening of chamber I5 is open for a purpose which will become apparent hereinafter. A closure `means or door is slidably associated with the chamber access opening wall pieces 3| and 32. This closure means or door includes an -inner flexible metal member or sheet 33 and an outer flexible edges of the sheet metal members 33 and 34 extend into guiding slots 43 and 44 respectively provided in the side wall pieces 3| of the access opening of chamber I5 (see Figs..2 and 5). 'I'he slot or groove 43 provided in the side Wall pieces y 3| is narrow and deep as compared to the slot or groove 44 for a purpose to be presently described. Each end of the heavy lower slat 36 of the door head is provided with an ear 49 which extends into a deep wide slot or groove 41, provided in the wood pieces 3|, to guide the head of the door during vertical movement thereof. Wires or airplane cables 5|, such as Roebling cables,v have their one end portion 52 bent around the end of ear 49 on slat 36 and secured thereto by any suitable means such as by screws 53 (see Fig. 6) These cables extend upwardly through the central deep slots-41 in pieces 3| and over pulleys 54 pivotally rmounted by shafts 55 to brackets 56, which bracketsv are secured by screws 51 to the top of the wood pieces 3| (see Fig. '1) These cables 5| then depend through slot 43 in pieces 3| to the roller means or drum 39. 'I'he end portion 56 of cables 5| extend through an opening in the wall of drum 39 and are fastened to this drum by any suitable securing means such as by bolts 59 (see Fig. 9). Each of the cables 5| is adapted -to be spirally or horizontally Wound upon the drum .39 within an undercut portion 60 adjacent each end of the drum and beyond the side edges of the sheets 33 and 34. Sheet members 33 and 34 together with cables 5| form an endless belt-like device cooperating with and secured to drum 39. The roller means or drum 39, located in the machine compartment I6 of cabinet I0, includes web parts having a bearing portion 6| secured, as by keys or screws 62, to a shaft 63 (see Fig. 4). One end of shaft 63.ex tends through a bearing 64, provided on bracket means 66, and terminates adjacent a side wall Il of compartment I6. The other end 61 of shaftA 63 is mounted in a bearing similar to bearing 64 and projects through an opening in the metal wall of machine compartment I6. l'I'his end 61 of shaft 63 is, in the present disclosure, pro' shaft 63 of drum orfroller-means 39 may, and

metal member or sheet 34, both of which are formed of thin sheet metal such as stainless steel and extend continuously along the length of-the access opening of chamber 5. One end 33a and 34a of each sheet member 33 and 34 respectively is secured between two wood slats or the like 36 and 36a by screws 36h and the secured together slats form an edge of the door (see Figs. 3 and 5). The other end 33h and 34h of 'each sheet member 33 and 34 respectively is fastened by a clamp 31 and screws 31a within a groove 38 provided in a roller means or drum 39 located within the machine compartment I6 (see Fig. 8). These sheet members 33 and 34 extend, in spaced apart relation to one another, through the open bottom`wall of the chamber access opening and are guided therethrough by an outer metal piece should preferably, be connected, with proper gearing or belting, to a mechanism operated by a reversible electric motor controlled by a push button switch arrangement. Such mechanism and control therefor is conventional and may be of the type commonly employed for opening and closing garage doors where one button of a switch is pushed to operate the door in one direction and another button is pushed to operate the door in, an opposite direction In using such mechanism in the present invention, a third button incorporated in the switch would be employed to break the electric circuit at the switch so as to stop the food chamber door at any desired point along its path of travel The crank 68 therefore merely serves in the vpresent disclosure as means operable to rotate the roller means or drum 39,

4| and an inner metal piece 42 which extend across the front portion of cabinet I0. The side for causingvertical movement of the door.

In addition to the metal sheet members 33 and 34, I provide the food storage chamber door with other intermediate spaced apart sheet members 1|, 12 and 13. These members 1|, 12 and 13 may be formed of flexible aluminum foil or they itsoneend secured `to a stud 81 and its may be formed of fabric provided with a suitable ously throughout the length ofthe food chamber access opening and each has its one end secured to the door head slat 36 by any suitable fastening means such as by a 'plurality of tacks or the like 14 (see Fig. 3). The other end of each member 1|,- 12 and 13 is secured to separatespools or independent roller means 11, 18 and 19 respectively locatedimmediately below the bottom of the food chamber access opening (see Figs.I 2 and 3). Stationarily located rolls 11a, 18a and 19a, having their ends rotatably mounted in openings provided in upright portions 80 of bracket means 66, are adjacent each .spool 11, 18 and 1 9 and serve to direct the side edges of sheets 1|, 12 and 13,into theirrespective grooves in` wood pieces 3|. 1l, 18 and 19 `are each provided with a spring (not shown) which is placed under tension when the sheet members are unrolled from the rollers such as,-for example, when the food chamber door is moved to closed position. In this respect,

A the sheet members 1|, 12 and 13 and their correspondingroller'means 11, 18 and`19 are conventional and are similar to ordinary window curtains with thestop-lockthereof removed. The spring tensioned rollers 11, 18 and 19 will cause the sheets 1|, 12 and'13 toroll thereupon when the door is moved downwardly to open position. The side' edges of sheet members 1| and 13 are located in opposite guide slots or grooves 48 provided in the wooden pieces 3| while the side edges of sheet member 12 are located in the| opposite wide slts741 of the pieces 3| (see Fig. 5). These spools or rollers 11,` 18 and 19 have theirends mounted in suitable holesy provided in the upright portions 80 of the bracket means 66 which bracket means comprises an inverted U-shaped metal member rigidly secured to the cabinet Ill in any vsuitable manner Within the machine compartment I6Y thereof.

It is to be noted that the inner metal sheet member 33 and cables 5| are provided with a slack or relatively loose portion adjacent the roller means upon which they .are to be rolled.

The slack or loose portion in the'members mentioned is for the purpose of supplying sufllcient length to l"the sheetmember 33'and cable 5| to 'account for the difference in rolling speed of the members'33 and 34 upon one another on drum 39. Obviously,the spools or rollers 11, 18

and 19 will rotate much faster than drum or roller means 39 to afford the. same speed of up. and down movement'of sheets 1|, 12 and 13 as is imparted to metal sheets 33 and 34 by the drum. At the slack lor loose portion ofmetal sheet member 33, I provide a'roll 8l which extends entirely across the sheet member and has its ends mounted in arms 82 located adjacent the side edges of sheet member 33. Each arm 82 is pivotally mounted as by a pin 83 to the upright portions 88 of bracket means 66, and a spring 86 having end fastened to an arm 82l forces .the roll 8| Yagainst sheet member 33 to maintain the same taut at all times whereby the slack or loose por- These spool or roller means tion does not wrinkle or become tangled. At the slack or loose portion of each cable 5|, I provide a short roller 9| mounted upon an arm 92 which arm is pivotally secured, as by a pin 93, to the upright portion 88 of bracket means 66. A spring 94 having its one end secured to a stud 95 and its other end associated with the arm 92 apmoving elements from that portion of the machine compartment I6 containing the heat dissipating unit or motor-compressor 24. Plate 91, therefore, serves to prevent heat generatedby the motorfcompressor 24 and condenser 23 from flowing upwardly between the sheet members of the door of the refrigerated chamber`l5.

In moving the food storage chamber vaccess door of the refrigerator 'cabinet I8 of the present d disclosure, the crank 68, or any other suitable operating means for roller or drum39, is operated to cause rotation of drum 39 in one direction for flexing and rolling or winding the sheet metal members 33 and 34 thereupon while at the same time unwinding the cables 5| from the end portions 60 of the drum. Such operation causes vertical movement-of the door of chamber I5 and this door moves downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The sheet members 1|, 12 and 13 are simultaneously wound uponl the small roller means or spools 11, 18.and 19 by the action of the springs incorporated inor associated with these spools. Operation of the crank 68, or other suitable operating means for drum 39, in the opposite direction will cause rotation of the drum 3,9 in an opposite direction to wind the cables 5I upon the end portions 6|) of drum 39 while at the same time unwinding the` sheet members 33 and 34 from the drum. Winding of the cables 5| upon drum 39 causes the ends -.52- of the cables to pull upwardly on the other ears 49 of piece'36 of the door head. This pulling moves the members 33, 34, 1|, 12 and 'I3 upwardly within their guiding slots or grooves of side pieces 3| to bring the door head into engagement with the top wall piece 32 of the chamberaccess opening so as to close the door and seal the chamber |5.v The upward movement of the sheet members 1|, 12 and 13 tightens the springs incorporated in or associated with the spools 11, 18 and 19 so that these springs will have suicient tension to automatically wind or roll-the sheet members thereupon when the door is again moved down. As beforestated, .the articles which are frequently placed in or removed from the food storage chamber I5 of cabinet I0 should be arranged on the uppermost food storage shelf I3 within chamber I5 and at the sides of the evaporator 2|. Thus, the acquisition o'r serving of such articles and/or the removing of ice blocks from evaporator 2| necessitates opening of the food chamber door only to a point slightly below the upper shelf within the chamber I5. 'I'he remainder of the chamber or that portion thereof from the upper shelf to the'bottom wall is thereby maintained closed to conserve the cold air within the chamber during frequent operation o f the door to 'gain' access to those articles or food products which are frequently removed from and replaced in the chamber.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided an -improved doorstructure for closing the access opening of a food storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet. The improved door, in addition to conserving the cold air within a refrigerated chamber, also presents other advantages which makes its use practical and desirable. By providing a door which substantially rolls up upon itself within the confines of the refrigerator cabinet walls and which moves in a vertical direction, I permit a refrigerator cabinet to be installed in any location without danger of the door opening or swinging in a direction which will interfere with other objects of furniture or appliances adjacent the refrigerator. The vertical movement of the door permits the user to stand directly in front of the cabinet during opening of the door so as to be in a position to facilitate placing of articles in or the removal of such articles from the refrigerated chamber. My improved door structure forms the sole means of closing the food storage chamber while at the same time eliminating the use of other auxiliary or additional doors, curtains and the like heretofore commonly employed to conserve cold air in a food chamber of a refrigerator.

While the form of embodiment of the inven tion as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

l. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a Wall thereof, a plurality of flexible sheet members connected to Akone another and extending continuously in spaced apart relation along said chamber access opening to form a door normally closing same, roller means within ,said cabinet adjacent said chamber access opening for flexing and winding said members therev upon to cause sliding movement of said door,

and said roller means being operable to cause the door to open saidchamber access opening.

2. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof, a plurality of exible sheet members connected to one another and extending continuously in spaced apart relation along saidv chamber access opening to form a door normally closing same, horizontally disposed roller means within said cabinet adjacent said chamber access opening for flexing and winding said members thereupon to cause vertical movement of said door, and said ro'ller means being operable to cause the door to open said chamber access opening.

3. Iny a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof and a machine compartment beyond said chamber, a plurality of flexible sheet members connected to one another and extending continuously in spaced to cause the door to open said chamber access opening.

4. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof, a door associated with said cabinet and forming the sole means of closing said chamber access opening, said door comprising a plurality yof sheet-I members extending continuously in spaced apart relation along said chamber access opening, roller means within said -cabinet adjacent said chamber gaccess opening operable in one direction for winding said members thereupon and causingsaid door to move downwardly to open said chamber access opening, means connected to said door and associated with said roller means, and said last named means causing unwinding of said members from said roller means and movement of said door upwardly to close said chamber access opening when said roller means is operated in a direction opposite said one direction oi operation thereof.

5. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof,a door normally closing said chamber access opening and comprising a plurality of .flexible sheet members extendi continuously in spaced apart relation along the entire length of said chamber access opening, one of said sheet members forming the inner face of said door and the other of said sheet members forming the outer face of the door, said door also y comprising a plurality of exible sheet members intermediate said rst named sheet members extending continuously in spaced apart relation along the entire length of said'chamber access I opening and dividing the space between the inapart relation along said chamber access Opento form a door normally closing same, horlzontally disposed roller means within, said machine compartment adjacent said chamber access opening for-flexing and winding said members thereupon to cause vertical movement of said door, and said roller means being operable ner and outer faces of said door into a plurality of spaces, roller means within said cabinet adyjacent said chamber access opening for winding said members thereupon, and certain of said roller means being operable to cause movement of said door to open said chamber access'opening. A

, 6. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof, a door normally closing said chamber access opening and comprising a plurality of. sheet metal members extensible continuously in spaced apart relation along the entire length of said chamber access opening, one of said sheet metal members forming the inner face of said door and the other of -said sheet metal members forming the outer face of ,the door, said door also comprising a plurality of flexible sheet members extensible continuously in spaced apart relation along the entire length of said chamber access opening intermediate said sheet metal members and dividing the space therebetween into a plurality of spaces, a common roller means Within said cabinet adjacent said chamber access opening for winding said sheet metal members thereupon, said common roller means being operable to cause sliding of said door in a vertical direction to open said chamber accessopening, and separate roller means 'for each of said intermediate flexible sheet door members operable upon operation of said common roller means for winding the intermediate door members thereupon.

7. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof, a plurality of sheet members extending continuously in spaced apart relation along said chamber access ,opening and providing a door normally closing said opening, a roller. within said cabinet, one end of each of said sheet members being connected together in the vicinity of said chamber access opening and the other end of each of said sheet members being attached to said roller, cables having their one end portion connected to the connected together ends of said sheet members and their other end portion wound around and attached to said roller,

said roller being operable in one direction of rota.

tion to cause unwinding of said cables therefrom 8. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure includ-A ing a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof, a door associated with said cabinet and normally closing said chamber access opening, said door comprising a plurality of spaced apart sheet members extending along said chamber access opening and having their one end connected together, roller means within said cabinet having the other end of said sheet members attached thereto, and said sheet members being wound upon said roller means when' said door is moved to open said chamber access opening.

9. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure includ? ing a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof, a door normally closing said chamber access opening and comprising a iirst means forming the inner face of said door and a second means spaced from said ilrstmeans and forming the outer face of the door, said door also comprising a plurality of sheet partitioning members extending substantially parallel to and intermediate the ,inner and outer faces of said door and dividing the space therebetweenv into a plurality of spaces, and roller means adjacent said food storage chamber for winding said iirst means, said second means and said partitioning members thereupon when said door is moved to open the chamber access opening.

l0. In a refrigerator, a cabinet structure including a food storage chamber having an access opening in a wall thereof, a door for closing said chamber access opening, said door comprising a Vfirst sheet member of flexible metal forming the inner face of said door and a second sheet memlber of exible metal spaced from said rst sheet metal member and forming the outer face of said door, said door structure also comprising spaced apart sheet partitioning members intermediate the sheet metal members, said spaced apart sheet partitioning members extending substantially parallelto and being spaced from the inner and outer faces of said door to divide the space therebetween into a plurality of spaces, means about which said sheet members may be exed when the door is moved to open said chamber access opening, and guide means for guiding said door when being moved into access opening and access closing positions.

EDMUND'F. scnwmnn, 

